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Updated: 5:43 PM Mar 15, 2006
Perry Visits Wildfire-Ravaged Area Thursday
Gov. Rick Perry visits wildfire-ravaged areas of the Panhandle and South Plains Thursday.
Posted: 8:00 AM Mar 16, 2006 |
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(March 16, 2006)—Gov. Rick Perry heads Thursday to northwest Texas for a first-hand look at the effort to contain the wildfires that have scorched hundreds of thousands of acres of rangeland since the weekend.
Strong winds hampered efforts to contain the fires Wednesday and fires continued to burn over nearly 800,000 acres in the Panhandle and South Plains of Texas.
Hundreds more Texans were being forced from their homes Wednesday by the fires.
Residents of half-a dozen towns in Lipscomb County were being evacuated.
The Texas Forest Service says people in Lipscomb, Higgins, Barton Corners, Booker, Darrouzett and Follet were relocating amid safety concerns.
Eleven deaths are blamed on the raging grass fires, including four oilfield workers who were trapped at a Roberts County ranch.
The Department of Public Safety identifies those victims as Roberto Chavira, 42, of Cactus, Arthur Dominquez, 32, and Merdaro Garcia, Jr. 32, of Pampa, and Gerardo Villareal, 30, of Rio Grande City.
Three firefighters were injured in a vehicle rollover.
Two were intensive care Wednesday and the third was in stable condition.
The fires have killed an estimated 11, 000 head of livestock and have destroyed homes, outbuildings, cars and hundreds of miles of fencing.
The Waco-based Texas Farm Bureau has launched a statewide effort to collect hay, fencing materials and cash for farmers and ranchers in the affected areas of the state.
More firefighters and more equipment were headed to the area Wednesday, Perry said.
Fire departments around the state have dispatched 35 brush trucks, 15 heavy engines, four tankers and eight command vehicles to the region.
Those join a fleet of 28 aircraft, 54 bulldozer crews and 17 heavy engines.
Twenty-nine states have provided help in the effort to contain the fires, which broke out over the weekend.
Wildfire Resources
Click Here For Texas Farm Bureau Web Site
Click Here For Texas Wildfire Information And Reports From The Texas Forest Service
Click Here For The Keetch-Bynum Drought Index
Click Here For The U.S. Drought Monitor
Click Here For More Weather Information
Drought Resources
Click Here For More Drought Information From NOAA
Click Here For National Weather Service Fort Worth Web Site
Click Here For More Drought Information From The NWS Fort Worth
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